Thursday, May 12, 2016

Normal Norman by Tara Lazar and Stephan Britt (Sterling Publishing)

With a dazzling eye-popping cover and a fabulous message to impart, we are completely in love with "Normal Norman" by Tara Lazar and Stephan Britt...This gorgeous story opens with an inquisitive little girl, very much like Charlotte, who is narrating her first research book. This pocket-sized scientist is trying to quantify something that has taxed many minds for aeons. "What is Normal?"

The girl meets Norman, a big friendly purple orang-utan (what, you've never seen a purple orang-utan? Where have you been?) who is to be the subject of her studies. Norman isn't really like other orang-utans (what, the purple wasn't a bit of a giveaway?). He prefers a lovely pepperoni pizza to a tasty banana. He speaks beautifully rather than grunting and pointing. He loves cuddling up with his teddy at night and loves to dive to the bottom of the sea during the day.

Surely this isn't normal? So what is?

Tara's gentle story highlights something that children pretty much take for granted, but for the adults reading this to their little ones, the message is just as important. Normal is absolutely impossible to distil, to categorise, to describe and definitely to perform scientific studies on. Normal is what you are, what we are, and what Norman is and we hugely applaud a book that sums up that key point - that normal is indefinable - so beautifully.

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2016 YABA Award-Winning Book bloggers for your busy little bees. Dad (old enough to know better) and Charlotte (young enough to be a smarty pants) take a look at the best and brightest children's picture books, chapter books and other great kids stuff